The Honeywell round thermostat design is one of the most user-friendly and underappreciated appliance designs of all time. MN90 Producer Andi McDaniel explains what has made the “T86 Round” so popular and so enduring.

The Honeywell round thermostat design is one of the most user-friendly and underappreciated appliance designs of all time. MN90 Producer Andi McDaniel explains what has made the “T86 Round” so popular and so enduring.

MN90 producer Marisa Helms describes the life of Charles Albert Bender, born on the White Earth Reservation in northern Minnesota and later inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Includes an interview with Tom Swift, author of Chief Bender's Burden, published by the University of Nebraska Press, 2010.

Minneapolis-based Munsingwear cornered the union suit market in the early 1900s and went on to become the largest underwear company in the world. MN90 producer Marisa Helms tells us that Munsingwear’s rise to under garment dominance all started with the invention of “itchless wool,” a revolution in its time.

Archbishop John Ireland helped numerous Irish prosper in America and Minnesota. MN90 Producer Allison Herrera talks about the man behind the boulevard in St. Paul. Includes an interview with Ann Regan, author of Irish in Minnesota, published by the Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2002.

Minnesota has one of the more robust black newspaper scenes in the country. At one time, there were nearly one hundred. The oldest such newspaper is The Minnesota Spokesman Recorder, based in Minneapolis. As Allison Herrera points out, these newspapers not only informed African Americans about news and culture of the day, they did it with literary flair.

While Martin Luther King Jr. may be the name most people think of when they think of civil rights, there’s another seminal character in the story of equality in the U.S. MN90 Producer Andi McDaniel learns about Roy Wilkins, who grew up in St. Paul and attended the University of Minnesota.

MN90 producer Marisa Helms describes the creation of the First Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment in 1861 and highlights its actions at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. Includes an interview with Matthew Cassady of Historic Fort Snelling.

To say that Frederick McGhee had a remarkable life would be an understatement. Born into slavery, he became the first African American attorney to practice in MN. He was among the founders of the NAACP. He argued against separate but equal laws in 1910, nearly forty years before Plessy vs. Ferguson. MN90 producer Allison Herrera tells us about his legacy.

The one million acres of land and water bordering Minnesota and Canada called the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, or BWCA, began to be set aside for preservation purposes in 1902. MN90 producer Marisa Helms recounts some of its history.